Adaptor ring and method of assembling the ring to the corner fitting of a cargo container



Oct. 8, 1968 w. M. ISBRANDTSEN ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLJlNGTHE RING 'IO THE CORNER FITTING OF A CARGO CONTAINER Filed March 24,1966 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. A/q ewe f7 Bagels/D7327 M 1968 W. M.ISBRANDTSEN 3,

AUAF'J'OFM RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE RINGv TO THE CORNER FITTINGOF A CARGO CONTAINER Filed March 24, 1966 v s Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 8,1968 w. M. ISBR DTSEN 3,404,444

ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD 0 SSEMBLING THE RING 'I'O ITTING OF A CARGOCONTAI THE CORNER F Filed March 24, 1966 Sheets-Sheet l5 United StatesPatent 3,404,444 ADAPTOR RING AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING THE RING TO THECORNER FITTING OF A CARGO CONTAINER Waldemar M. Isbrandtsen, 315 E. 65thSt., New York, NY. 10021 Filed Mar. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 537,231 Claims.(Cl. 29-450) This invention relates generally to corner castings orfittings for cargo containers, and more particularly to an adaptor ringwhich is receivable within an end opening in a corner fitting and whichserves to reduce or otherwise alter the effective dimensions thereof toconform to certain requirements.

A cargo container is a shipping box suitable for storing andtransporting bulk material, packages and pieces, as

well as a number of smaller containers, the cargo container protectingthe contents thereof from loss or damage and being large enough toentail mechanical handling. A cargo container is said to be demountablewhen it can be handled in transit as a unit and when it can be mountedand secured in or on marine, rail, highway or air carriers.

Demountable cargo containers have been standardized as to their heightand width, but they vary in length. Thus standard containers are eightfeet in width and eight feet in height, whereas their length liesmodularly in the range of to 40 feet. Such containers are of ruggedconstruction, for they must have sufiicient structural strength towithstand, without permanent deformation, the static and dynamic loadsimposed by pickup and stacking operations and the impact shock andstresses encountered in normal carrier service.

Demountable cargo containers are provided with top corner fittingshaving end, side and top openings adapted to accommodate standard hooks,shackles, slings or other engaging hardware elements for registering,picking up and securing containers on railroad fiatcars, highwayvehicles, ships decks and hatches, as well as in aircraft. The bottomcorners are also provided with fittings, these having end, side andbottom openings suitable for engagement with lif ing devices as well aswith registering and securing devices. In order to facilitate verticalstacking of the containers, the bottom corner fittings must becompatible with the top corner fittings.

Existing corner fittings have been or are in the process of beingstandardized to conform to prescribed American or internationalspecifications, and to this end, the shape and dimensions of theopenings in the fittings are precisely defined so that the containersmay be universally lifted, stacked, mounted or otherwise handled andsecured, using commonly available standard hardware for these purposes.

There is, however, one function which standard containers equipped withstandardized corner fittings cannot accomplish, and that is end-to-end,tandem coupling of two or more standard containers for over-the-roadtransport. One such arrangement is illustrated in the patent to Bohlenet al., 3,004,772, which discloses a technique for rigidly couplingvan-sized cargo containers horizontally to produce a tandem structure inwhich tension, vertical and lateral shear forces are transmitted fromone container to the other, thereby creating a single large semitrailer.

In order to intercouple the containers in tandem, the coupling elementsof the type disclosed in the Bohlen patent must engage end openings inthe bottom corner fittings, which openings differ in their shape anddimensions from those now specified or/and are in the process of beingspecified under American and/or international standards. As aconsequence, containers which are constructed with bottom cornerfittings having such non- 3,404,444 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 "ice standardend openings are not freely interchangeable with containers havingbottom corner fittings which conform to existing or proposed standards,and they cannot, therefore, be handled by the engaging elements andhardware employed with standard fittings.

Accordingly, it is the main object of this invention to provide anadaptor ring which is receivable in the end opening of a nonstandardbottom corner fitting and which effectively alters the shape and size ofsaid opening to conform it to the shape and dimensions prescribed or inthe process of being prescribed under American and/or internationalstandards.

Thus the invention makes it possible to take many existing cargocontainers having bottom corner fittings of the type dictated by theBohlen patent and adapt them to the accepted standards withoutdisturbing the capab lity of combining these containers in tandemrelationship. In practice therefore, two or more such containers havingnonstandard bottom corner fittings may be combined to form a semitrailerfor road transport to carry a load to a shipping dock, at which pointthe container may be uncoupled and converted by the adaptor rings intostandard cargo containers which can be lifted aboard a cargo ship andstowed therein, placed on a rail car or on a standard over-the-roadflatbed undercarriage, using standard hard ware for this purpose.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide anadaptor ring which is receivable within an end opening of a specifiednonstandard bottom corner fitting, Which by reason of its lockingelements holds itself securely within the opening.

Also an object of the invention is to provide an adaptor ring of thetype noted above, which may be quickly inserted and removed, and whichmay be manufactured and sold at relatively low cost.

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as other objectsand further features thereof, reference is made to the followingdetailed description to be read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows, in perspective, a demountable cargo container havingstandard corner fittings;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a hook engaging the top cornerfitting of the container shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a twist-lock mounting engaging thebottom corner fitting of the container shown in FIG. 1',

FIG. 2 is an end view of a standard bottom corner fitting;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a nonstandard corner fitting;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an adaptor ring for a corner fitting inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a view, partially in section, showing a nonstandard bottomcorner fitting as seen at the side of the fitting;

FIG. 6 is a view, partially in section, as seen at the bottom of thenonstandard bottom corner fitting, with the adaptor ring inserted in theend opening thereof;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of the nonstandard bottom cornerfitting illustrating the end opening therein, with the adaptor ring inthe process of being inserted; and

FIG. 8 is the same cutaway, showing the ring in its inserted position.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there isshown a typical demountable cargo container 10 that can be handled intransit as a unit and is large enough to normally require mechanicalhandling. The construction of the container body forms no part of thepresent invention.

Container 10 is provided with four top corner fittings 11, each fittinghaving an end opening 11A, a top opening 11B and a side opening 11C, theopenings being differently shaped. In American and internationalarrangements, the top corner fittings are flush with the ends and sidesof the container, but extend slightly of an inch) above the roofsurface.

These openings are adapted to accommodate standard hooks, shackles,slings or other engaging pickup devices mounted on spreaders for manual,semiautomatic or automatic operation in the manner shown, for example,in the specifications for cargo containers published by the AmericanStandards Association. By way of illustration, in FIG. 1A, a hook 13 isshown engaging the end opening in one of the corner fittings, but it isto be understood that any other standard form of lifting hardware may beused.

The standard container is also provided with four bottom corner fittings12 having an end opening 12A, a bottom opening 128 and a side opening12C. By way of illustration, in FIG. 1B, a twist lock mounting 14 isshown for engaging the fitting through the bottom opening, the mountingbeing secured, for example, to a flatbed trailer, or welded to the deckof a vessel. The various corner fittings are fabricated from steel oraluminum castmgs.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown one standard bottom cornerfitting in end view, the fitting being of the type used with the cargocontainer of FIG. 1. End opening 12A, which is circular, occupies anoff-center position on the end wall and has a diameter of 2 /2 inches,to conform to existing specifications of the American StandardsAssociation. In FIG. 3, there is shown a bottom corner fitting 15 of thetype used for end-to-end, tandem coupling of containers and having anonstandard end opening 15A. The diameter of end opening 15A is greaterthan 2 /2 inches, and its internal wall configuration does not conformneither to the requirements of the American Standards Association nor tothose of the International Standards Organization.

But inasmuch as the nonstandard fitting 15 is the only one which may beused in containers to effect endto-end intercoupling thereof, theproblem to which the present invention is addressed is effectively toalter the shape and to reduce the diameter of opening 15A to conform tothe desired standards.

To this end, an adaptor ring 16 is provided as shown in FIG. 4, the ringbeing provided with a pair of diametrically opposed L-shaped keys 17acting as a bayonet-type locking device. The ring is preferably made ofthe same material as the corner fitting. Ring 16 is of truncated conicalform having a central opening 18 of the shape and dimensions to conformto the desired standards.

As best seen in FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the external configuration of ring16 is made such as to conform to the tapered wall portion 19 at themouth of opening 15A, this portion leading to cylindrical wall portion20 of uniform diameter having a cavity 21 formed therein. FIG. 5 showsthe side opening 15C of the casting 15, and FIG. 6 shows the bottomopening 15B thereof, these openings conforming to standards.

When the ring 16 is inserted in opening 15A, it lies snugly Within thetapered wall portion 19 thereof, whereas the keys 17 lie against thecylindrical wall portion 20, the keys being curved to conform thereto.In order to lock the ring within opening 15A, two notches are cut intothe cylindrical wall portion 20, one notch being dimensioned to receivethe projecting portion 17a of key 17, and the other to receive theprojecting portion 17a of the key 17. In FIGS. 7 and 8, only notch 22 isshown for receiving the projecting portion 17a.

Hence to render a bottom corner fitting usable in conjunction with anadaptor ring without in any way impairing its ability to function in itsnormal way, all one need do is to cut notches therein to accommodate thekeys of the ring. Then it becomes possible to insert the ring in opening15A and to lock the ring therein by a simple twisting motion in thecounterclockwise direction. A reverse twist will free the ring from theopening.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment ofadaptor ring in accordance with the invention, it will be appreciatedthat many changes and modifications may be made therein without,however, departing from the essential spirit of the invention as definedin the annexed claims. Thus While reference has been made herein to anadaptor ring, this term is used because the outer extremities of the endopening in the nonstandard corner fitting shown, is circular. However,the principles disclosed herein are equally applicable to permitconversion to standard of virtually any nonstandard aperture, the outerextremities of which are materially larger than the 2 /2 inch diameterstandard, even if such nonstandard aperture is not on the standardcoordinates of 2 /2 by 3% inches.

I claim:

1. The method of altering the configuration of a nonstandard opening ina corner fitting for an otherwise standard cargo container to provide anopening having a desired standard configuration, said method comprisingthe steps of z (a) forming a pair of diametrically opposed notches inthe wall of said opening at positions displaced inwardly from the mouththereof, said openings being dimensioned to receive a pair of bayonetkeys,

(b) inserting into said opening a ring having an inner wall defining anopening having the desired configuration and having an outer wallconforming to the mouth of said opening, said ring being provided with apair of bayonet keys, and

(c) twisting said ring to cause said keys to enter said notches therebylocking said ring in said opening.

2. An adaptor ring for a cargo container provided with a bottom cornerfitting having an end opening therein whose configuration does notconform to certain standards, said opening being surrounded by a wallinto which notches have been cut displaced inwardly from the mouth ofthe opening to accommodate diametrically opposed bayonet keys; said ringbeing constituted by an inner wall defining an opening having thedesired configuration, an outer wall conforming to the wall of said endopening, and a pair of diametrically opposed bayonet keys receivable insaid notches.

3. A ring as set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring portion is oftruncated conical shape and said wall of said end opening in saidfitting has a tapered portion to which said ring portion conforms.

4. A ring as set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring and said fittingare made of cast steel.

5. A ring as'set forth in claim 2, wherein said ring and said fittingare made of cast aluminum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 788,488 4/1905 Miller 287-103 X2,299,133 10/1942 Epes 29--437 X 3,004,772 10/1961 Bohlen et al. 2804153,233,319 2/1966 Jensen et al. 29-437 3,242,564 3/1966 Longini 29-434THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner.

1. THE METHOD OF ALTERING THE CONFIGURATION OF A NONSTANDARD OPENING INA CORNER FITTING FOR AN OTHERWISE STANDARD CARGO CONTAINER TO PROVIDE ANOPENING HAVING A DESIRED STANDARD CONFIGURATION, SAID METHOD COMPRISINGTHE STEPS OF: (A) FORMING A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED NOTCHES IN THEWALL OF SAID OPERATING AT POSITIONS DISPLACED INWARDLY FROM THE MOUTHTHEREOF, SAID OPENINGS BEING DIMENSIONED TO RECEIVE A PAIR OF BAYONETKEYS, (B) INSERTING INTO SAID OPENING A RING HAVING AN INNER WALLDEFINING AN OPENING HAVING THE DESIRED CONFIGURATION AND HAVING AN OUTERWALL CONFORMING TO THE MOUTH OF SAID OPENING, SAID RING BEING PROVIDEDWITH A PAIR OF BAYONET KEYS, AND (C) TWISTING SAID RING TO CAUSE SAIDKEYS TO ENTER SAID NOTCHES THEREBY LOCKING SAID RING IN SAID OPENING.